Redknapp ready for 'aggravation' of England job

FILE - This is a Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011 file photo of the Team GB men's soccer head coach Stuart Pearce, as he speaks during a press conference at Wembley Stadium in London . The English Football Association Thursday Feb. 9, 2012 appointed Stuart Pearce as the interim coach of the England team following Fabio Capello's resignation.

LONDON — Enduring a five-year police investigation and two-week trial before cleared of tax fraud has prepared Harry Redknapp for the "aggravation" he knows would face as England coach.

With the European Championship only four months away, the Tottenham manager is the leading contender to replace Fabio Capello as head of the national team.

With no certainty that Redknapp can be lured from Tottenham, English Football Association executives met Friday to form a shortlist that would likely include other candidates.

"If the opportunity comes, and I get asked, I'll have to consider it," Redknapp said Friday. "I'd be very surprised if I didn't finish the season with Tottenham, that's for sure."

The 64-year-old Redknapp has the skills FA chairman David Bernstein requires of his next coach: strong motivational qualities, experience handling top players and an ability to produce exciting soccer.

Redknapp has led Tottenham to third place in the Premier League. He knows leading the Three Lions would not be easy and is trying to downplay expectations about his abilities in charge of a national team without a major trophy since it hosted the 1966 World Cup.

"Let's not kid ourselves. It's aggravation," he said. "There have been a lot of great managers since Alf Ramsey, unbelievable managers. When someone like Capello finds it hard going, it has to be hard"

Even Bobby Robson found that as he took England to the World Cup semifinals in 1990.

"He went through some terrible periods. He got slaughtered at times," Redknapp said. "We haven't really had too much success, so it shows you what a difficult job it must be. No one has a magic wand."

A groundswell of public support for Redknapp gathered after Capello quit on Wednesday following a disagreement with the FA over John Terry being stripped of the captaincy.

"It's nice if people put me in a position where they think I've got a chance of getting the job," Redknapp said. "It is flattering. Other managers have come out and said nice things and I appreciate everybody's support really."

Redknapp, an FA Cup winner as Portsmouth's manager in 2008, is the "right choice," according to United manager Alex Ferguson.

"He has the experience and personality and the knowledge of the game," said Ferguson, who managed Scotland at the 1986 World Cup. "He has changed the fortunes of every club he has been at."

It has been a whirlwind week for Redknapp. Facing a potential jail sentence on Wednesday morning, by the evening he had been cleared of tax evasion and installed as the favorite to replace Capello.

"It was a horrendous period," Redknapp said. "The most draining thing I have been through in my life."

Had the jury not believed his defense, Redknapp could have been in prison on Friday rather than speaking to the media ahead of Tottenham's match against Newcastle on Saturday.

"I remember getting called in," he recalled of being told a verdict had been reached. "You don't know what to think. You have 12 people that are going to decide (whether) to finish your life, basically. It is not a feeling that you would wish on anybody."

While son Jamie, a former England national team player, was at Southwark Crown Court throughout the trial, wife Sandra stayed away.

"I wouldn't let her come to court. She couldn't have handled it," Redknapp said. "It would have killed her, without a doubt."

Redknapp was recruited by Tottenham from Portsmouth in 2008 despite the police probe. Seeking their first league title since 1961, Spurs are seven points behind first-place Manchester City.

Redknapp's contract runs through the 2012-13 season.

"I can't take my eye off the ball at Tottenham at the moment because we're looking to get Champions League football, we're still in the FA Cup and I owe it to them to continue to keep completely focused on the job I'm doing here," Redknapp said. "It wouldn't be fair to anybody here if I started to let my thoughts wander elsewhere."

England Under-21 coach Stuart Pearce will take charge of England's exhibition against the Netherlands on Feb. 29. The FA said another interim coach could be in place for Euro 2012.

Redknapp said the job is too big to be done by a part-timer.

"It is hard enough managing a league club let alone managing your country. It's two very difficult jobs," he said. "I think your focus has got to be on one job."